Better Botley – better planet:

carbon-neutral by 2030.

It’s easy to say ‘what impact can a parish council really have on global

environmental issues?’. It’s certainly easier to say that than it is to

actually do something. It‘s true that we are a small organisation with

limited powers (as we acknowledge in the plan). That makes it even

more important that we use the power we have wisely. The new plan

commits us to act in three ways for our climate and nature, on:

 The Council’s own activities

 The Council’s responsibilities

 Encouraging and enabling community and individuals to act.

You can find the Parish Council’s Climate Action Plan at the top of this

simple as changing when we mow. As a first step we will hold a

discussion between the Parish Environment & Wellbeing, Allotments,

and Recreation & Amenities committees. We will invite local experts

and relevant organisations to feed in ideas and suggestions for actions.

We will also be looking at other green spaces around the parish. Can

these be better looked after so as to benefit wildlife. Are there places we

could plant more trees? Is there space for more food growing? How do

Land is, of course, in high demand in Botley, with new developments

proposed every month. Our powers to influence planning proposals are

than those cut down, and proper maintenance of those new spaces.

There are other actions we can take. We will look at how our own lands

are managed, and support the ambition to double tree cover across

Oxfordshire by 2045. We are already talking with Thames Water and the

Environment Agency about ending sewage pollution in the Seacourt

Stream.

We certainly cannot do all this on our own. We will be encouraging

action by community groups and individuals – the tree planting (see

below) planned for December will be a first step in this direction. We’ll

produce a guide to what you can do and how you can get involved in

making our parish an even better place to live.

2030. We are producing some guidance and information how everyone

can play a part, and we will follow up the 2020 Green Day last February

with a meeting on ‘Climate Action’. We will be looking to reduce our

own ‘climate footprint’ as a Council (just as District and County Councils

published. To the fullest of our limited powers, we will ensure that all

new developments are sustainable, and take account of the climate

implications of our own decisions. We will promote ‘zero carbon homes’

as a target and support the Oxfordshire Zero Carbon Homes initiative.

We will also speak up for climate action. Decisions on major new

developments are largely made by local authorities, the Growth Board,

or by national government. Too many of these decisions will needlessly

safe cycle parking spaces, in all significant planning proposals for our

area. Parts of our parish are badly affected by air pollution (some of the

worst problems in south-east England) from the A34. We will work with

relevant agencies to tackle this problem and support local activities that

minimise the impact, especially around the local primary schools.

There’s more in the Plan – you can read it on the NHPC website

(https://northhinksey-pc.gov.uk). But the thousands of people who live

in North Hinksey and Botley can together have a much greater impact

than the parish council. We recognise that people can often be

uncertain about what they can do to reduce their own carbon footprint.

retailers, green builders and landscape companies, etc. So, watch this

Investing in a greener home

The costs of energy saving measures, such as installing solar panels or

other new equipment, like heat pumps, can be much lower if people co-

offers homeowners cash support. If you are thinking about investing to

cut your fuel bills, send us an email. North Hinksey Parish Council are

exploring ways to help make this happen on a bigger scale. This is still

in its early stages, and there will be no obligation to be part of any

purchase if it happens. We are simply keen to know if there is interest in

a scheme like this. Contact us on environment@northhinksey-pc.gov.uk

We are pleased to announce that there will be two community tree

planting days in North Hinksey and Botley

during Tree Week, which runs from

Everyone is welcome – we’ll aim to plant

around 500 trees. These will be small ‘whips’ – young trees about 1m

tall. If you’ve not done this before, it’s easy and satisfying and we’ll

give full guidance. Covid-19 issues mean we must make sure that

planting is done in a ‘socially distanced’ and safe manner, so bring

along your your own spades and gloves. We are grateful to the Rugby

Club for their support. If you’ve got ideas for other land where tree

planting could take place, please do get in touch via the parish council

Our Not-so-Silent Cinema

A new head for Botley School

The County Council has come up with

a cunning plan to get families with

points. The app runs in the

background and lets you know when

you are within 40m of a checkpoint, where you can log your progress.

You can build up points whenever you are outside and active – parking

not too close to school, for instance, and walking the rest of the way will

get you points.

Points are entered onto a leaderboard, and tallied up. Every 12 weeks

the winners are announced, and they can earn £50 worth of kit for their

school, as well as other goodies. The winners of the first two twelve-

week sessions will be entered for the Street Tag Oxon School Games

If your school hasn’t signed up, get them to fill in the online form. They’ll

There’s more to it than this – details are on the County Council website.

For all you need to know about how to play, head over to

Kennington Memory Club, sadly, had to close its doors in the early

(pictured) have been working hard for some time to address all the

measures required to allow a re-opening of the Club. A risk assessment

is now in place, discussions with the Church have been held, and the

procedures necessary to re-open the Club safely are well understood.

In the light of recent increases in Covid 19 cases, regulations on

numbers of people allowed indoors together have been strengthened.

to be able to maintain social distancing and ensure the safety of the

members and staff. Now we are eager and all geared up to get going

again, with relevant procedures and protection all in place.

Thursday November 12th at 10.00am.

There will be some spaces for new members, and if there is enough

demand, Monday sessions will resume as well. If you would like to know

more about the Club for yourself or anyone else, or to put someone’s

name on the waiting list, please visit the website

(www.kenningtonmemoryclub.org.uk) and contact Helen on 07852

883496. Can’t wait to see you all

More About Sewage

Oxford there are five watercourses, including the Thames itself. Another

generally acknowledged fact is that over the last ten years or so, Botley

completed, all those latent planning permissions were enacted and

remember that wet-wipes are responsible for a whacking 90% of sewer

blockages, and make sure that we don’t add to these. Building regs now

require new developments to show they have ways of dealing with the

rain off their roofs that doesn’t involve the sewerage system, so